No matter who wins in what game, innovation always has a spot on the Olympic podium. This year, we've discovered disruptive thinking about the tech and gear that powers competitors or helps them communicate with fans. We've followed the evolving ways we watch events like the Olympics--on second or third screens. We've highlighted the sponsors who've used an Olympic presence to experiment. And we've even explored the branding of competitors who represent no country at all. Here's a take on the London event you won't find on NBC.

“Medal Count” Boils Olympics Down To Hardcore Stats

Because in the end, some of us only need to know who won what.
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Nike’s Olympic Gear For Athletes Without Countries

Not every Olympian is privileged enough to play for their home country. So what do they wear?
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How AT&T Integrated Olympic Results Into Its Ads So Darn Fast

Did you catch a clip of Ryan Lochte’s gold-winning swim in an AT&T ad this weekend? You weren’t seeing things. The brand’s new campaign places winning Team USA results into its advertising in near real-time.
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Who Are The Most Social Olympians?

A study by agency Sapient Nitro breaks down who’s got the most Olympian social media following and habits.
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The 12 Best Ads of The 2012 Olympics

Find out which brands have already ascended the podium in the advertising events at London 2012.
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“You Are Here” Makes Art Out Of Lost Olympic Tourists

In collaboration with photographer Caroll Taveras, agency Mother London has created "You Are Here," a photo project and exhibition during the Olympics that shows lost tourists the way.
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David Beckham Surprises Fans In Adidas’ Magic Photo Booth

Fans at an Adidas-sponsored Olympic photo booth are shocked when they find themselves face to face with the man, the myth, the one they call Becks.
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As Authorities Crack Down, Banksy Enters The Olympic Graffiti Games

Was there any chance Banksy would sit out the 2012 Olympics? Probably not.
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Meet The Superhumans In This Ass-Kicking Paralympics Spot

In a pulse-pounding new ad for this summer’s Paralympic Games, which are receiving a big push from London’s Channel 4, differently abled athletes are in it to win it and then some.
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Drug Company GSK Strives to Keep the Olympics Pure

GSK enlists TBWA London to create a campaign promoting the anti-doping lab it is running at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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How The BBC Is Building The First Social Olympic Games

The BBC’s ambitious Olympics strategy incorporates multiple broadcast and online channels, and large-scale social and data integration. But the broadcaster sees the games as just the proving ground for a broader digital strategy.
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Coca-Cola’s Interactive Beatbox Building For The London Olympics

Coca-Cola extends its music-driven Olympics presence with a building you can play.
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Olympic Ad Passes The Torch With User-Generated Content

With its "Show Your Best" contest, the International Olympic Committee collected videos of ordinary people performing extraordinary feats. Now, some of those videos have found their way into an innovative ad set to air during the Olympics broadcast.
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Rewarding London Residents For Excercising

What if your bike ride to work meant you got free stuff at stores? Recyclebank is going beyond just offering rewards for recycling, giving London commuters fresh incentives to walk or ride.
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London’s Black Cabs Go Green

A fleet should be ready by the London Olympics in 2012.
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The Prosthetic Foot That’s Helping Paralympic Athletes To Compete

Don’t forget that directly following the Olympics comes the Paralympics. Those amazing athletes will have the benefit of this cutting edge technology to help them try to medal.
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London’s New Red (And Green) Double-Decker Bus

That British icon, the red double-decker bus, is getting an update that will make it sleeker and, more importantly, much cleaner.
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Infographic: What’s Different About The 2012 Olympics? Social Media, Basically

How much bigger is social media in 2012 than it was in 2008? Three times? Ten times? Try 100 times.
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Stamps That Meld London’s Olympics With Its Landmarks

Designed by Hat-Trick, the four stamps fuse pictures of athletes with London’s iconic structures.
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Olympics Shooting Gallery Looks Like A Giant Octopus

Either the place was blasted by the world’s silliest M60 or a giant octopus has invaded London.
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Gary Hustwit On The Fate Of The Olympic City, After The Games End

Are the Olympics truly good for the health of a city? A new project from documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit and photographer Jon Pack examines the impact of the Olympics, long after the last TV camera is packed away.
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The Podium And Ceremony Outfits For The 2012 Olympics Are Crazy

A group of young British design students introduce their podium and costume concepts, which will be seen by millions this summer.
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Could an Icon of the 2012 Olympics Become a Stinky Engineering Debacle?

The giant hookah needs more structural engineering--and sewage pipes--before it can be approved.
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Gustavo Sousa uses the "beautiful and elegant" logo to show discrepancies between participating countries.
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Thinking Back to the 1984 Summer Olympics: The Glory and the Magenta

Being a designer in Southern California is like doing comedy; it's much harder than it looks. The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was a perfect example of this.
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Facebook, Twitter Compete For Social Gold At The Olympics

Facebook's new Olympics deal treads on territory long held by Twitter. But will it be enough to stake its claim on the second screen?
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7 Creative Ways Pro Athletes Fund Their Way To The Olympics

Training full time for the Olympics is, well, a full-time job--but it's not a fruitful one: Athlete stipends can be just hundreds of dollars per month. To fund their dreams, hopefuls get creative.
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Management Lessons From The London Olympics

London is ready. No matter what it looks like close up, this massive project involving thousands of people, hundreds of groups, and billions of pounds, will be ready when they light the flame on 27 July .
As for me, the experience offered a nice refresher course on a few easily overlooked laws of leadership.
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British soccer--or football, whatever you call it--hasn't won Olympic gold in a century. To turn the team around, head coach Stuart Pearce has stuck to four guiding leadership principles that any business would do well to emulate.
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The Wi-Fi-Enabled, Bomb-Proof Trash Can Of The Future

It’s not just a place to throw your rubbish. New trash cans being installed for the London Olympics can’t be blown up, separate recycling, and also display helpful tourist info. That’s service.
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Taking Steps Toward More Energy: Sidewalks That Generate Power

PaveGen, a British company that makes sidewalk tiles that create small amounts of electricity, is ramping up to take advantage of the foot traffic during the Olympics. Will pedestrian power pay off?
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How Colorado Springs Became The Heart Of The U.S. Olympic Movement

In the 1970s, a fierce power struggle over the future of amateur sports landed the U.S. Olympic Committee in a Cold War-era tactical room in southern Colorado. With the London Olympics around the way, we delve into the strange story behind the city cultivating America’s top athletes.
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Burst, The Family-Friendly Instagram Of Video, Goes For Olympic Gold

The recently launched Burst is another system that would like to be the "Instagram of video." But where SocialCam and Viddy are trying hard to appeal to users by the million, with high-profile celebrities using the systems to share clips, Burst is aiming at a very different demographic. It wants to be the app you automatically reach for when you're sharing a video with your family.
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When Olympic Brand Bullying Backfires

If you get between a Brit and his chips, your brand may ultimately suffer.
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